Welcome to the Hog Blog, a blog chronicling minor-league baseball in the Lehigh Valley. Tom Housenick, The Morning Call's IronPigs beat writer, has been at The Morning Call since 2008. In a previous lifetime, he was at Lackawanna County Stadium in Moosic talking with future Phillies Jimmy Rollins, Pat Burrell, Shane Victorino and Ryan Howard, among many others.
He’ll now be spending his summers in search of who the Phillies are hoping to be the next Chase Utley and Cole Hamels plus any outfielder who catch and hit. What he really hopes to find are the next Mariano Rivera, Todd Helton and Jim Thome --- great human beings who happened to be great at this sport.
He spent the last five years covering Colonial League football, college basketball and high school track & field.

Officially, the IronPigs still aren't saying why an Father's Day appearance by Pete Rose to Coca-Cola Park, announced Wednesday, was abruptly cancelled within 24 hours.

Responding to a phone inquiry Thursday about the cancellation, general manager Kurt Landes said in a text message. "I'm not able to comment beyond the press release." And Landes maintained the "no comment" stance prior to Friday's game with Gwinnett.

However, it was pretty clear before the appearance announcement had even left the IronPigs' computers that Rose would never appear at Coca-Cola Park, since it would've violated his lifetime ban from baseball.

Rule 15 of the Major League Baseball rules states "A player or person on the Ineligible List shall not be eligible to play or associate with any Major League or National Association Club until reinstated." And as a major league affiliated minor league team, the IronPigs belong to the National Association.

Rose has been on baseball's Ineligible list since 1989, when he agreed to a voluntary lifetime ban with then commissioner Bart Giamatti after Rose was accused of gambling on baseball while serving as manager of the Cincinnati Reds. Under the agreement, Rose acknowlegded baseball had a factual reason for the ban (although he continued to deny he had bet on baseball), and the commissioner agreed not to make a formal finding on the gambling allegations.

Since then, Rose has been banned from any celebration, reunion, or sponsored apperance in a major league stadium with one exception -- the unveiling of baseball's All-Century team at Game 2 of the 1999 World Series in Atlanta as selected by a fan vote. That's the night when NBC reporter Jim Gray aggressively -- some say too aggressively -- questioned Rose on the allegations and repeatedly asked Rose if he was ready to admit to the charges.

But that was actually the second time Rose had been part of an on-field ceremony since his ban. Eight years earlier, as part of the Reading Phillies ceremony to retire Mike Schmidt's number following his induction into the Hall of Fame, After Rose was not permitted to attend ceremonites at Veteran Stadium to retire Schmidt's uniform because of the ban, Rose was invited to Reading as a special guest of the team to surprise his former teammate.

Reading's general manager at the time was Chuck Domino, who is now the IronPigs' team president, and he first maintained that the R-Phils were governed by National Association rules, not those of Major League Baseball, and that no one had ever specifically told him or anyone in minor league baseball that Rose's visit was not permitted.

But a few days later, after being informed of Rule 15 and after the National Association president told the Philadelphia Inquirer that his organization does follow the roles of major league baseball, Domino told the newspaper Philadelphia Inquirer, "Well, it sounds to me like we were in the wrong."

One has to wonder how Rose, who finally came clean in a 2004 autobiography that he bet on baseball (although he denies he ever bet on his team), or someone in Rose's camp would've agreed to the appearance, realizing it would violate his ban. Not to mention that such an appearance could have jeopardized his hopes of being reinstated someday so he could be eligible for the Hall of Fame.

Where the breakdown in communication took place in the IronPigs front office is unknown, or even relevant. But you can bet it isn't going to happen again.

They tried this many years ago when the Reading Phillies were retiring Mike Schmidt's Number in Reading. Pete Rose was there for that. They need to give Pete a break he made a mistake and he lived up to it. Then in my opinion when a player makes a mistake they should be banned for life as well no matter what it might be.